UN criticizes lack of "humanity" towards Palestinians

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United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres criticized this Friday the lack of "humanity" and "compassion" shown in the face of the suffering of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

In a video conference address to the General Assembly of Amnesty International, a London-based human rights organization, Guterres warned that the region is experiencing not only a humanitarian crisis, but also "a moral crisis that challenges the world's conscience."

"From the beginning, I have repeatedly condemned the horrific Hamas attacks of October 7 [2023]. But nothing can justify the explosion of death and destruction we have witnessed since then. The scale and scope surpass anything we have seen in recent history," said the UN Secretary-General.

"I can't explain the level of indifference and inaction we see from too many people in the international community . The lack of compassion. The lack of truth. The lack of humanity," he stated. In the same speech, Guterres resorted to irony to recall that children in Gaza say they "want to go to paradise," because there, the representative continued, "at least, they say, there's food."

"This isn't just a humanitarian crisis. It's a moral crisis that challenges the world's conscience. We will continue to speak out whenever possible. But words don't feed starving children," he emphasized.

The Secretary-General also described the conditions under which “heroic” UN humanitarian workers operate, who continue to do their work “in unimaginable circumstances.”

"Many are so numb and exhausted that they say they feel neither dead nor alive. We participate in video calls with our own humanitarians who are starving to death before our eyes," he reported.

Guterres also denounced the deaths of “more than a thousand Palestinians, killed while trying to find food” since May 27, the date on which the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) began operating, an entity supported by Israel and the United States with which the UN refuses to collaborate.

"We need action, an immediate and permanent ceasefire, the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, and immediate and unhindered humanitarian access," the representative urged, assuring that, in the event of a ceasefire, the UN is prepared to "substantially" increase its humanitarian operations.

In a new assessment of the conflict released Thursday, the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry reported 59,587 deaths and 143,498 injuries. This tally includes at least 115 deaths from hunger or malnutrition since the beginning of the Israeli offensive in October 2023.

The ongoing war in Gaza was triggered by attacks led by the Palestinian extremist group Hamas on October 7, 2023, in southern Israel, which left around 1,200 dead and more than two hundred hostages.

Israel's retaliation, which also imposed a blockade on the delivery of humanitarian aid, also resulted in the destruction of almost all of Gaza's infrastructure and the forced displacement of hundreds of thousands of people.